Unexpected Awakenings
by petitestars
Summary: After being captured by Fifth, Sam’s not as okay as they all think she is. Post New Order.


Title: Unexpected Awakenings

Author: petite_stars

Rating: T (minor swearing and adult themes)

Season/Spoilers: Set season 8 during New Order II

Category: Team, Sam and Jack friendship

Summary: After being captured by Fifth, Sam's not as okay as they all think she is.

Disclaimer: Not mine! Just borrowing the characters, Stargate SG1 belongs to MGM, Rob Cooper and Brad Wright etc.

Author's notes: I was a bit off put when I saw how there was no real follow up to Sam's capture and torture by Fifth so I wrote a missing scene. Hope you enjoy, any feedback, good or bad, is appreciated.

***

Daniel Jackson was beyond tired. The events of the past few months had begun to catch up with him, the stress and worry over Jack and the fate of the SGC, combined with Sam's recent disappearance had led to many sleepless nights. Now, with both Jack and Sam safely on board Thor's ship, Jack defrosted with his head empty of Ancient knowledge and Sam alive and seemingly uninjured from her ordeal, Daniel finally felt like he could get some rest.

He glanced over the rest of SG1, also standing wearily on Thor's ship, and noted the tiredness in their stances. Jack leant against the wall, staring at the blankness in front of them, Sam was still standing on her own but her head seemed to be drooping and Daniel wasn't sure her eyes were actually open. Teal'c looked, well, no different at all really, but Daniel could read the weariness in his eyes. The eight hour trip back to Earth was going to be long if they were all going to just stand there. Daniel decided enough was enough, he called out to Thor who was standing at the small control desk.

"Uh, excuse me Thor," The little gray alien turned around, "Is there somewhere we could rest until we reach Earth?"

"Of course, I will create some accommodations on the lower level," Thor said, turning back to the control panel and moving the devices on them.

Daniel noticed Sam perk up despite her obvious exhaustion, "Create, how do you do that?"

"Ah Ah Ah!" Jack stepped in before Thor could answer her, "No more tech talk until I get at least six hours sleep and time enough for the icicles to melt from my brain… amongst other places."

Sam looked disgruntled but didn't comment. Thor waved his hand over one of control panels and SG1 suddenly found themselves beamed inside a spacious room. Four body-length panels stood out from the wall, with small, flat pillows and blankets. Daniel tested one of the panels and found that despite looking solid, they were actually quite soft.

He groaned, "Try them. They're quite comfy."

Teal'c looked doubtfully at the slim panels, "They do not appear of sufficient strength to hold my weight."

He sat on the floor against the wall, crossing his legs and assuming a meditative pose.

"Suit yourself," Jack murmured, trying out his own panel, then swinging his legs onto it and lying down when he realized how comfortable it was, "Night-night campers."

"Night sir," Sam said quietly, "You should sleep too, Daniel."

Daniel glanced up at Sam who was the only one still standing, "So should you."

Sam shook her head, "I'm not tired."

"Sam, you're practically asleep on your feet."

"No, I'm not." the stubborn tone of her voice proved useless as she yawned loudly.

Daniel gave her a pointed look, "Sleep Sam."

"Both of you sleep," Jack ordered grumpily, "Or both of you shut up. Your choice."

Sam shrugged sheepishly and lay down, turning her back to Daniel, and before long Daniel heard her soft breathing even out. He paused for a moment to look at her; she'd been in enemy hands, yet none of them had really taken the time to really question her on what had happened. What little she had said about her captivity had been vague and Daniel knew there must have more to the story, but it didn't seem the time or the place to push it. She didn't seem to be in any pain; aside from being exhausted, she seemed fine. Although Daniel knew the definition of 'fine' differed when it was applied to SG1. Knowing the best thing for Sam right now was sleep, Daniel lay down, pulling the blanket over himself as he closed his eyes and drifted off.

***

Jack woke abruptly to screaming. Leaping up from the bed he was disorientated for a moment before he realized he was on Thor's ship. And that Carter was screaming, loudly, and thrashing around on her sleeping panel; appearing to still be asleep but in the grips of a nightmare. Daniel had leapt up too but it was Teal'c who had made it to Carter first.

"Major Carter!" Teal'c reached out and shook her shoulder, "You must awaken."

Teal'c's firm grip shook her awake and Sam sat up violently. She stopped still for a moment staring at the men's shocked faces. Then she screamed again, "Nooooooooo!"

She kicked out at Teal'c, catching him off-guard in the stomach and he bent over in pain. She leapt up, going for the door and Jack shook off the shock and lunged for her, "Carter! Stop!" He managed to get his arms around her and dragged her to the floor but she was still thrashing about.

"Get off me." Sam wriggled about trying to dislodge his grip.

"Daniel, help me! Teal'c block the door." Jack ordered, starting to lose his grip of the struggling woman.

"What do you want me to do?" Daniel asked anxiously dropping down next to Jack and Sam, his hands hovering over them but not reaching down to help.

"Talk, to her. Snap her out off it!"

"Sam! Sam!" Daniel grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him, "Sam!"

She stopped struggling but Jack didn't loosen his grip, "I won't fall for it," she said angrily, "Do what you want but I won't stay here willingly with you, no matter who you put me with or where you keep me!"

"Sam, I don't understand." Daniel was clearly confused. Jack didn't blame him, he didn't understand Carter on a good day, yet alone on a day when she'd clearly cracked.

"Don't play dumb, Fifth!" Sam resumed struggling, "Just let me go."

"Fifth?" Daniel asked, confused again.

"Oh shit." Jack murmured keeping Carter detained, now he realized what she was talking about, "Bastard got in her head."

"Does someone want to explain this to me?" Daniel was still in the dark.

"Fifth was the human form replicator we were forced to leave behind when we trapped them in a time bubble for the Asgard. He took a particular liking to Major Carter."

"And he must have been pretty pissed when we left him behind." Jack added, not mentioning that it had been only on his order that it had happened, an order that Carter had disagreed with.

"So what, she thinks we're all a delusion?"

"Those damn things can make you see whatever the hell they want you to see," Jack said as Sam stopped struggling and went deliberately limp, he directed his next comment to Carter, "Not falling for that one, Major."

"It is likely Fifth tortured her mentally," Teal'c stated, still blocking the door.

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Sam shouted.

"Sam we aren't a delusion. We're real Sam," Daniel said, "What's the last thing you remember?"

"I…" Sam trailed off clearly trying to focus her scattering memories, "I don't know."

"Do you remember Orilla, Sam? We found you on the planet, after the replicators left," Daniel said gently.

"No," Sam shook her head.

"We beamed up to Thor's ship. We were going take a rest until we got back to Earth."

Sam looked at him for a long moment, Jack could see indecision wavering on her face as she battled her memories with what she thought was going on.

"How can we convince you that we are real, Major Carter?" Teal'c asked.

"I don't know."

"I do. Teal'c take her," Jack and Teal'c swapped places and as Jack got to his feet, "Daniel, give me your knife."

"What?"

"Daniel." Jack gave him his best Colonel O'Neill stare, the one that had the new SGC recruits shaking in their boots.

Daniel didn't budge.

"Daniel, I know how to prove to Carter we aren't those damn bugs. Give me the knife."

Daniel gave him a wary look and handed it over.

"Carter, if I'm a replicator could I do this?" Jack asked and before Daniel could stop him he had made small cut on his arm. Blood dripped out but Jack did nothing to stop it, he showed his arm to Carter who flinched.

"Sam?" Daniel prompted her when she didn't answer, her eyes stuck on the blood.

"No." She whispered, "Oh God."

Daniel reached out as she slumped forward and Teal'c let him take the defeated woman in his arms and hug her close to his chest, "Sam it's okay."

"I'm so sorry. Teal'c, Colonel I didn't hurt you did I?"

Teal'c shook his head, "I am unharmed Major Carter. Although your kick was strong, I am fine."

"I've had worse from waking Daniel up in the morning," Jack shrugged, Daniel was known for waking abruptly, and stumbling around without his glasses. In a small tent that often meant that Jack had gotten a foot in his kidney while Daniel stepped clumsily on anything and everyone in reach.

"Okay," Sam's voice sounded broken, but she wasn't crying, "You can let me go now Daniel."

Daniel let her go but kept a close arm around her, "Do you want to go back to sleep?" He felt her shudder through the arm he held around her.

"No, I uh," Sam looked to the door, "I just need a minute."

She got up off the floor and made for the door; the men all tensed and Teal'c moved to follow her until Sam held up her hand, stopping him.

"I just need some privacy. I'm not going to run off."

Jack gave her a stern look but subtly nodded, giving her permission to leave the room, "Don't go far."

Sam disappeared through the door, leaving three very worried men behind.

***

Sam forced herself to ignore the strong urge to run as soon as she left the room, and the men of SG1, behind. She stopped at the closest doorway and peered past it into the room; it looked to be roughly the same size as their accommodations, but was stacked with what looked like boxes, labelled in unfamiliar writing.

Sam entered the room and slumped down onto the floor; she blocked herself into a corner and leaned her head against the cool wall of the ship. She felt utterly humiliated. She'd just attacked her team for no good reason, shouted and kicked at them, all because she couldn't control herself.

_You had a very good reason_, a small voice in her head reminded her, _you *did* just get kidnapped by a psychotic replicator with an unhealthy obsession into making you his submissive little lover/plaything on a make-believe farm in Montana_. Her life was *weird*. Sam tried not to start laughing hysterically, she wasn't sure that, if she allowed herself to start, that the laughter wouldn't dissolve into tears.

Sam kept a tight hold on her emotions as she tried to process the recent events. She'd known as soon as she'd seen the Colonel's blood that she wasn't still trapped in Fifth's sick mind-games, however, the undercurrent of fear had yet to go away. Her heart was still pounding and she felt her hands start to shake. What she wouldn't give to be at home instead of on this cold alien ship that reminded her of her recent prison.

Sam didn't know how long she sat pushed into the corner, but as much as tried to get up, her legs refused to cooperate. So instead of trying any more, Sam pulled her knees into her chest and hid her face in them, holding her breath against the tears that wanted to escape, hoping the rest of SG1 would leave her in peace until they returned to Earth.

"Carter?" No such luck.

"Yes sir?" Sam hoped her voice didn't sound as shaky as she felt.

When Colonel O'Neill entered the room and dropped down beside her, she tried not to look at the clean white bandage on his arm, "Teal'c was worried and sent me after you."

"*Teal'c* was worried?" Sam didn't quite believe that. Not that Teal'c didn't worry, but that he had sent the Colonel after her.

"Daniel was too. It was his idea to come look for you." He admitted lightly.

"Ah."

"And maybe I added my two cents too," Jack said. This time Sam heard the unspoken worry underneath the lightness in his tone.

"I'm fine," She fell back on her standard stock answer.

"You know, in the SGC handbook it says that you can only say that you're 'fine' 23 times a year. You've hit your limit and now you have to tell the truth." Trust the Colonel to come up with an explanation like that, Sam thought wearily.

"I don't know what you want me to say."

"I don't *want* you to say anything." he spoke softly, it was evident in his voice there was no pressure for Sam to talk, but he remained there, sitting next to her, his restless fingers smoothing down the edge of the bandage on his arm.

Sam sighed, "I don't know where to start."

"Did he hurt you physically at all?" O'Neill had obviously decided to take the business approach to questioning her, starting with the standard question for those who had been in enemy hands.

"No." Sam sounded unsure.

"Carter."

"It was mostly just in my head. He put images and stuff in there, things I hadn't seen before, that must have come from you or Teal'c or Jonas," Sam admitted, "It hurt a bit, he wasn't gentle like he was last time."

"Jesus, Carter. I'm so sorry."

"Not your fault." Sam responded straight away.

"I was the one who ordered you to abandon Fifth, if it had been left up to you, our war with the replicators might be looking a whole lot different."

"It could have made it worse."

"Or it could have made it better."

Sam shook her head, this conversation really wasn't going anywhere, "Okay, sir. Are we done?"

"Not just yet, you said he was in your head?" Sam nodded, "Did he have access to all your thoughts?"

"You mean my passwords and security information."

"Yes."

"I don't think he accessed it, but I can't be sure." Jack gave her a strange look and she elaborated, "He wasn't after information on the SGC, he targeted my more personal memories to use against me."

Jack looked pained, "I really am sorry, Carter."

Sam nodded, too tired to argue that his apology was unnecessary. She leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes. "How much longer 'till we're home?"

"'Bout four hours. Thor dropped in with an update and some little nourishment cubes just after you took off." He sounded eager.

"I guess we should head back, then," Sam said, getting up slowly. Jack groaned as he too got up off the cold floor, giving Sam an envious look when her knees didn't crack loudly.

He stopped Sam before she exited the room and told her quietly, "You know that the nightmares get better. They don't go away completely, but they fade with time."

Sam nodded, "I'm worried I'll wake up again and not realize where I am. Think I'm back there with… him."

"We've got your back, Carter," Jack said simply, "If that means we have to camp out in your living room till you stop waking up kicking, then so be it."

Sam gave him a small smile, "Thank you, sir." Her team was family, it was a comforting thought to all be back together again. Any problems and she knew unequivocally that she could turn to them for support. No matter what was going on in her life.

"No problem, Carter. Now let's get back, I've been frozen for months, I want food."

Sam thought back to years earlier when she'd had her own encounter with Asgard food, a smile crossed her face.

"Sir?"

"Yeah Carter?"

"Try the yellow ones."

***

The End


End file.
